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History

Sale Rugby - From 1861

Sale Sharks are one of the leading professional Rugby Union clubs in Europe and the pride of the North West. Historically based in the Manchester suburb of Sale, but now playing at AJ Bell Stadium, the Sharks compete in the Aviva Premiership, having played in England's top flight since 1994.

We reflect the core values of rugby union: teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship. These values have underpinned the club's achievements and have helped build a strong winning and team mentality across all aspects of the business.

We have a family friendly match day experience for all ages, and with a great brand of being played by Steve Diamond's side, the club sees more hospitality guests than ever coming to watch matches at the AJ Bell Stadium, and they enjoy what they see.

Success

Since the game of Rugby Union turned professional in the mid 1990s, the Sharks have arguably been the archetypal success story, rising from the lower ranks to become a multiple trophy winner in the new Millennium.

Sale Sharks have won two European Challenge Cup titles in 2002 and 2005 but the highlight remains their 2006 Premiership title, secured with a thumping 45-20 win over Leicester Tigers.

Star attractions

As one of the leading sides in Europe, the Sharks boast a star-studded squad that includes internationals from all over the world. At the upcoming Rugby World Cup in 2015, which is being held in England, we expect many Sharks internationals to take part in the tournament, such as Danny Cipriani and Johnny Leota.

A big name through the years

Sale Football Club, founded in 1861, played at various grounds in the Borough until settling at their present Heywood Road ground in 1905. The club proudly maintained an increasingly higher profile through the amateur years, providing a stream of players to county rugby in the days before League fixtures, when the County Championship had a higher profile than it does now. Round the World War II years and afterwards until his death in 1976, the club was successfully administered by Jim Birtles.

Big names in the club's history include Hal Sever, Wilf Wooller and, after the war, Eric Evans and Bill Patterson.The club captured in Middlesex Sevens title at Twickenham in 1936. Then followed Jim Roberts, Peter Stagg and the seventies' cohort of Steve Smith and Fran Cotton. Others - such as stalwart Richard Trickey - served club and county with devotion and no little effort, but were never to receive the full cap.A glance at the Heywood Road honours board reveals numerous representative honours, including regional teams and the iconic Barbarians.

Under the charge of Paul Turner, then John Mitchell, the club's fortunes boomed during the late nineties as the promoted club surprised many by rising to top four and, in 1997, reached a Twickenham final for the first time, going down 9-3 to Leicester Tigers in the Pilkington Cup Final.

Dewi Morris played a full season during the 1996-7 campaign, alongside several homegrown stars who were later to make a massive contribution to the club's profile. The name Sharks was adopted in 1999.

The club's fortunes were low as the Millennium passed, but started to rise when RL stars Jason Robinson and Apollo Perelini switched codes after the club became owned by Cheshire businessman Brian Kennedy in 2000. In2001-2, former team mates Jim Mallinder and Steve Diamond coached the club to second place in the Premiership and European success, capturing the Parker Pen Shield 25-22 against Pontypridd at Oxford.With Cumbrian wingers Hanley and Cueto scoring tries, Heywood Road wasn't big enough to hold the crowds wanting to watch the exciting rugby on view, and the club moved to Edgeley Park, Stockport in 2003.

The Rugby World Cup was paraded by Clive Woodward, coach of the triumphant England side, on the pitch in December that year, prior to a televised Heineken Cup game against Cardiff Blues. The latter Mallinder days saw the club at Twickenham again in 2004, losing narrowly to the Falcons in the Powergen Cup Final. That Summer saw the arrival of Phillipe St.Andre as Director of Rugby.Within a year, then club had won the European Challenge Cup again at Oxford, this time 27-3 against Pau, but this was the build up to the club's highlight: the 2006 Guinness Premiership title, gained with a 45-20 win against Leicester Tigers.

Beset by injuries and player absence on international duties, the club couldn't repeat the achievement over the following two years, although there were isolated glories in Europe. The club had high profile players - Charlie Hodgson, Jason White, Jason Robinson, the Fernandez Lobbe brothers to name but five - but the club missed out on play offs and finals.

St.Andre left for Toulon in 2009 and the Sharks' struggles continued for two seasons, with low placings prompting Brian Kennedy to recall Steve Diamond from January 2011. As Executive Director of Sport, he instigated a fresh approach, looking forward after a huge turnover in playing and backroom personnel at a re-vamped Carrington High Performance Training Centre.

Sale Sharks decided to leave Edgeley Park, and move to the newly built AJ Bell Stadium in Salford in 2012. It wasn't the best of season's at the Sharks new home, as they staged a remarkable turnaround and stayed in the Aviva Premiership, despite lying bottom of the table at Christmas in 2012. They did however qualify for the LV Cup Final at Sixways, but lost out to Harlequins.

In the 2013-14 season, Steve Diamond and his men produced a tremendous season, finishing sixth in the Aviva Premiership, meaning they qualified for the brand new European Rugby Champions Cup. There were many memorable results in that campaign, including doing the double in the league over Bath, Wasps & Gloucester. The side also got to the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup, but lost to Northampton Saints in the quarter-finals.

For the 2014-15 season, the Sharks finished in seventh in the Aviva Premiership, while they finished bottom of their pool in the European Rugby Champions Cup, having pushed Munster, Saracens & Clermont Auvergne all the way at the AJ Bell Stadium. The standout players for this campaign had to be academy prospects Mike Haley & Josh Beaumont who became first team regulars, and Josh was called up for the England squad.